If anime producers believed their anime world lacked originality, and thought the insertion of an afro-wearing African American (rare for the anime medium) with uncanny samurai swordsmanship would make the experience unique, they are dreadfully mistaken.
The network premiere of the highly anticipated sequel “Afro Samurai: Resurrection” aired Jan. 25, but if you’re a fan of the series and you missed the premiere, you didn’t miss much. All “Resurrection” offers is a painful elongation of the “Afro Samurai” experience with increased body counts.
“Resurrection” takes place sometime after the concluding fight between Afro and Kuma. Afro, nearly invincible now, spends most of his time wandering the land and praying for the dead until his old enemies catch him off guard, again. Afro loses his Number One Headband and spends the rest of the two hours cutting, slicing and disembowelling legions of enemies that are too dumb to get out of his way.
If you’re a newcomer to the series, you didn’t miss much either. It possesses just enough violence for naïve teenagers and repressed fanboys to be convinced the experience is worthwhile.
That’s the “Resurrection” experience: a scantily clad princess, voiced by Lucy Lu, continues her tireless crusade of vengeance with her brother Kuma against Afro. She soliloquizes her intentions (and needlessly exposes her underwear) every five minutes she appears in the movie, even though every henchmen around her is either too distracted carrying out her machinations or too dim to understand common vernacular. Interestingly, she and Ninja Ninja seem to be the only “actors” in this production, even though none of their long ramblings are heard by their intended listeners.
This leaves the audience with a peculiar experience, sifting through forgettable and predictable dialogue spoken by unrelatable demigods that do not carry any weight or show character development in the endless smattering of gore.
Characters just don’t care about death in this movie. If they appear on screen, most likely they are going to be violently killed — for no reason except they are standing in Afro’s way.
If you love violence in a degree that could make Eli Roth cringe, this is the movie for you, as stylized violence is rarely so beautifully rendered. The battles are also interesting, even surreal, at their best parts — especially when Afro has to fight the child-carrying samurai atop the party statue platform. The design for the characters also is admirable, take for instance the princess’s skull-motif costume.
But if you are a regular lover of good story arc, character development, unforgettable settings or strong characterization, this movie isn’t for you. “Resurrection” tries to shallowly appeal to a fan following with baseless blood, sexual imagery and violence. This movie is an exploitation that takes itself too seriously, nothing more.